314 Notices and Descriptions of various New [No. 172. 



Postscript. — A further collection of Cingalese birds has just been re- 

 ceived from Dr. Templeton, including some of considerable interest, — as 

 the Gallus stanleyi of Gray, hitherto I believe only known from Hard- 

 wicke's published figure of the hen, — and the Tetras bicalcaratus of Pen- 

 nant, which is quite distinct from the ■ Curria Partridge' of Latham (Per- 

 dix benulasa, Val., v. Hardwickii, Gray, and Francolinus spadiceus, Ad. 

 Delessart), but ranks with the latter and G. spadiceus in my genus Gallo- 

 perdix, which represents, in India, the Polyplectrons of the countries 

 eastward, to which they are much more nearly allied than is generally 

 suspected.* Col. Sykes thought he recognised the Gallus stanleyi in 

 what he terms a short-legged variety of G. sonneratii, occurring at an 

 elevation of 4000 feet above the sea on the Malabar coast ; but Mr. 

 Jerdon and other subsequent observers know of but one species of 

 jungle- fowl in that part of the country — the ordinary G. sonneratii, and 

 the females of this bird have not (as Col. Sykes states) the " cartilagin- 

 ous spots on the feathers," but young males have, when in plumage 

 otherwise resembling that of the females. Moreover, G. stanleyi is 

 quite as high on the legs as G. sonneratii ; and, lastly, Mr. Jerdon has 

 found no indications whatever of G. sonneratii having ever been domes- 

 ticated, such as would have appeared in the plumage of its tame de- 

 scendants — or of its having mingled its blood with the ordinary domes- 

 tic stock, as Col. Sykes' remarks lead me to suppose. 



It is worthy of notice that specimens of Acridotheres tristis from 

 Ceylon are considerably darker- coloured than any I have seen from the 

 mainland of India ; whence the contrast between the vinaceous-brown 

 of the body and the blackish hue of the neck is very much less decided, 

 and the white of the vent and lower tail-coverts is in like proportion 

 more strongly contrasted with the blackish vinaceous colour of the 

 breast and flanks. 



A similar relationship seems to hold between Dicrurus leucopygialis 

 (p. 298 ante) of Ceylon, and D. ccerulescens of continental India : the 

 latter I have never observed to vary ; but some specimens of the Cin- 

 galese bird have the corresponding portion of the abdominal region albes- 



* This affinity is well exemplified by the general plumage of the females, and by 

 the vertical carriage of the tail, as well as by the form of beak irregular number of 

 spurs, &c. The Polyplectron Northits, of Hardwicke's ' Illustrations' is thus the 

 female of Galloperdix spadiceus. Ithaginis of Wagler, with which Mr. G. R. Gray 

 confounds these birds, is an allied, but very distinct division. 



